Welcome and Happy New Year!  Glad to have you with us for the first Fair Grounds of 2010.  Following a busy holiday season, we roll into this new year with plenty left to celebrate.  Another visit to meet producer partners as Tripp and Bill and several cohorts from Cooperative Coffees take off later this week for several days of meetings in Peru.  We've tallied the donations and proceeds for our friends at Fondo Paez and have that update for you in the Community Caravan.  There's a new coffee from Tanzania that we're excited to be able to offer.  Variety is the spice of life, right?  And speaking of celebrating, a fellow Coop Coffees member has received a prestigious award that we're happy to tell you about.  We're also beginning a series of sustainable practices pieces that we hope will become an interactive one for you.  The coffee house crew has another tasty treat that you can make at home and there's a quote to ponder as well.  Thanks again for being here and supporting fair trade with us.  Cheers.  Enjoy.

p.s.  In case you missed it last month, click here to view our new lineup that now includes four roast styles for our fair trade, organic, shade grown coffees.  If you have any questions, please let us know

Tanzanian Peaberry

This month's special offering hails from the slopes of Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania, Africa.  This peaberry variety of coffee is roasted to a Full City.  It has a sweet, nutty, and somewhat citrusy flavor.  Smooth, thick bodied, well-balanced.  Take 10% off any size bag(s) when you apply code tanz10 at checkout in our online store.  This discount is available through January 27th and while supplies last.  Read more about the farming cooperative, KNCU, that grows and harvests this delicious coffee in Producer Profile.

*Please note that this discount applies only to retail orders and cannot be combined with any other discounts or special offers.

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Café Campesino Coffee Grog

The holidays may be over, but the festivities carry on. This month the Café Campesino Coffee House staff brings you a delicious spiced coffee drink perfect for gatherings of family or friends. This tasty treat is easy to whip up and serves 6 or more.

Ingredients:

3 cups freshly brewed Café Campesino coffee (French roast preferably)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 orange peel, cut into 6 pieces
1 lemon peel, cut into 6 pieces
1 cup brown sugar
2 tbs butter, softened
1/8 tsp allspice, ground
1/4 tsp cloves, ground
1/4 tsp nutmeg, ground
1/4 tsp cinnamon, ground

Preparation:

Blend nutmeg, allspice, sugar, cloves, cinnamon, and butter together in a medium mixing bowl. Slowly pour in hot coffee and cream and stir until blended. Serve in prewarmed mugs and garnish with lemon peel and orange peel pieces. For an extra little kick, add in your favorite rum! 

KNCU has been in the coffee business for a long time. Its roots go back to 1933 when it was founded as a registered union under Tanzania’s Cooperative Societies Ordinance. After the government dissolved the union in the 1970s (along with the rest of the Tanzanian unions/cooperatives), it took over a decade for KNCU to reestablish itself. Currently, the Union trades coffee with 67 Primary Cooperative Societies, representing 60,000 farmer members. The actual number of members is higher but because of the industry’s trend towards liberalization, many of the members sell their coffee to private buyers as opposed to the association.

Female members of Kilimanjaro Native Coffee Union in Tanzania, Africa

The Union operates democratically with an elected Board of Directors and administrative staff for the Union itself as well as a Board and secretariat for each of the primary societies.  About 7% of members are women, most of them heirs to their deceased husbands’ membership. KNCU is currently engaged in a union-wide effort to increase female membership in the cooperatives.

Quality is a primary focus of KNCU. The Union believes that small-scale farming is the best way to achieve the highest quality coffee. Most of the members’ plots are between 0.5 and 1.5 acres per family, at altitudes up to 6500 feet above sea level. The core function of the Union is to “coordinate, organize and sensitize the farmers on the production of quality and increased quantity of coffee.” In 2005, it began a Coffee Quality Improvement Program with the aim of extending knowledge and expertise to create a better product and thereby receive a better price for its members. KNCU helps members process the crop and market the coffee abroad.

Since obtaining FLO certification in 1993, the Fair Trade premium has allowed members to establish a collective educational fund for scholarships to the farmers’ children, to build and operate schools, to finance the organic transition of 7 primary societies, to help finance the Quality Improvement Program, to grow a coffee nursery, and finally, to help finance a cooperative bank allowing producers to obtain loans and create savings and credit programs. KNCU is most definitely a success story when it comes to Fair Trade!

Café Campesino at Georgia Organics Annual Conference

Café Campesino will lead an educational session during Georgia Organics’ 13th Annual Conference and Expo, “Reclaiming Agriculture,” to be held Feb. 19-20 in Athens. Tripp and Bill will present a workshop talk about Fair Trade, offering a definition and overview of its practices as well as firsthand examples of the importance of fair trade in the field and its direct affect on the lives of producers. The session will be held from 2:15-3:45 p.m. as a part of a Food Systems educational track that is being offered on Saturday, Feb. 20.

The conference is expected to draw thousands of food lovers and organic enthusiasts from across the Southeast for educational sessions, farm tours, and a dinner featuring keynote speaker Carlo Petrini, founder of Slow Food. A non-profit-turned-movement, Slow Food began in Italy in the late 1980s in an effort to preserve local food cultivation and culinary traditions that were being threatened by fast food chains and agro-industrial production systems. The organization now boasts 100,000 members with chapters in 132 countries and Mr. Petrini, who is an editor and columnist in Italy, founded the University of Gastronomic Sciences in 2004 in northern Italy that is dedicated to Slow Food principles.

The Atlanta chapter of Slow Food and Georgia Organics work closely together, sharing similar visions for food cultivation in the Southeast.

In addition to Mr. Petrini’s keynote address and the Food Systems educational track, other topics covered during the Saturday sessions include ones on Slow Food culture, farm-to-school issues, home-grown food, raising livestock, managing the business side of farming, and various tips on growing organic food. Farm tours are scheduled for Friday, Feb. 19, and will feature a number of organic farms in the Athens and north-Georgia area. To sign up for a farm tour, the Saturday educational sessions, or learn more about the conference, visit Georgia Organics’ website.

For many years, Cafe Campesino has been proud to be a member and supporter of Georgia Organics.  We look forward to many more.

Fair Trade Futures Conference Planned for September

Fair trade entrepreneurs, retailers, consumers, advocates, and producers are invited to attend the 2010 Fair Trade Futures Conference to be held in Boston Sept. 10-12. 

The conference is an opportunity for Fair Trade professionals to share their best practices and explore the challenges and successes of the movement. Attendees can expect seminars, workshops, social activities, and experiential learning sessions all focused on Fair Trade. More than 50 Fair Trade Organizations and 700 attendees are expected.

Cooperative Coffees is a Leadership Group member for the conference, providing guidance and support. Other Leadership Group Members include Catholic Relief Services, Ten Thousand Villages, Equal Exchange, the Fair Trade Federation, Green America, Oxfam America, and SERVV.  To learn more about the conference, visit Fair Trade Federation's website.

Cooperative Coffees member Kickapoo Coffee Named 'Micro Roaster of the Year'

A coffee industry trade and technical publication, Roast Magazine annually announces a Macro and Micro Roaster of the year in its November/December issue. Micro Roasters are classified as roasting fewer than 100,000 pounds of beans per year. Among Roast Magazine’s selection criteria are the quality of the coffee and the roaster’s commitment to sustainability.

Owned and operated by two small families, Kickapoo Coffee is located in southwestern Wisconsin near the Kickapoo River. The roaster was founded in 2005 with a commitment to Fair Trade and sustainability. In addition to maintaining relationships with coffee producers through Cooperative Coffees, Kickapoo is tirelessly committed to environmental sustainability, working to entirely eliminate petroleum-derived plastic from its operations. Their canned coffee is sold in reusable, recyclable steel cans that contain 80 percent post-consumer recycled steel, and their coffee bags are biodegradable. They are also actively committed to their local community and region, selling the bulk of their coffee within a 200-mile radius of their roastery, which is located in a historic train depot.

Cheers and congratulations to the team at Kickapoo!

Through the very essence of fairly traded, organically produced, and shade grown product, Café Campesino has taken a stance towards promoting sustainability. We, along with fellow members of Cooperative Coffees, recognize our ability to significantly impact the process of growing, harvesting, purchasing, transporting, roasting, and distributing coffee beans in a manner that meets present ecological, societal, and economical demands and without compromising the success or needs for future generations. We now hope to open up a dialogue about the importance of sustainability, to offer practical solutions for managing waste, and to further explore our own practice from ‘crop to cup’, and beyond.

So stay tuned to this series for discussions about reducing/reusing/recycling, water conservation, energy efficiency, gardening/Community Supported Agriculture, home and yard care (including edible landscaping, definitely a delicious idea!)  We've got some things to share and we hope you will join in by following the series, by submitting your ideas and questions, as well as applying practical changes to your lifestyle that promote sustainability.  We all have a contribution to make and together we can, no doubt, make a difference.  We begin with a practical use for a waste product that we create a lot of: used coffee grounds.

Coffee Grounds 101

We discard our pail of ‘spent’ grounds and filters into our very own composting system and dispense to local growers at their request. In this manner, our grounds serve a great purpose of conditioning our community soil and avoiding the expensive transportation costs to a regional landfill. Composting coffee grounds is quite simple if you have an existing unturned pile. Discard the grounds to your pile making sure to add or cover with a high carbon source (dried leaves or shaved wood). This is important because coffee grounds are a solid nitrogen source having a carbon to nitrogen ration of about 20:1 (the same range as green manure!). The grounds will provide the heat the pile needs to accelerate decomposition, a lesson in chemistry right at your backdoor. If you are building a pile from scratch, it is good to use a layering technique by alternating one part fresh grass clippings to one part coffee grounds, by volume, turning once a week. Your compost will generally be ready in 3-6 months time. By recycling this valuable soil amendment and compost ingredient at the coffee house, we achieve a sense of economic relief, environmental pride, and social responsibility. You can too!

We welcome your feedback on this or any other subject.  Remember you can write to us anytime at info@cafecampesino.com. 

Annual Open House our Best Ever

December 11th's open house was our best yet! Thanks to all of you who came out to support us (and a big thanks to Rebecca and Joe for organizing such a wonderful event).  The coffee house was packed with supporters/revelers, despite it being one of Americus’ busiest nights of the holiday season; and food, libations and festivities were plentiful all night long.  We look forward to our 2010 Holiday Open House that will be held about the same time in December, so put it on your calendars. If 2010 is anything like 2009, a good time will be had by all.

Our best open house event yet.  Thanks for all of your support.

Also, a special thanks to all of you who donated to our Colombian producer partner, Fondo Paez, that has been struggling financially since their coffee crop was damaged by unseasonably harsh weather last year. To date, the fundraising effort has raised $944 for the cooperative that will help its members meet their most basic living expenses. We promise to keep you updated on their progress as the year goes on.  And if you'd like make a donation to the fund, click here We're hoping to raise at least $1500.  Please help us reach that goal, if you're able.

Dec. 12 - Café Campesino Atlanta welcomed Santa Claus and hosted a gingerbread house decorating party. The newly opened coffee shop hosts regular events for its customers, so stay tuned for updates

Jan. 4: Café Campesino Atlanta added affordable and healthy food options to its menu. Delicious new food offerings include: breakfast burritos, breakfast bagels, cherry almond steel cut oats, tofu or tuna wraps and homemade soups. Join Café Campesino Atlanta for breakfast, lunch or coffee at the Sweet Auburn Curb Market located at 209 Edgewood Ave. SE. Traveling South on I-75/85, take Exit 248D for Jesse Hill Jr. Drive. Traveling North, take Exit 248B at Edgewood Ave. Free parking for the first 90 minutes with validation.

Jan. 14: Movie night at the coffee house.  Doors open at 7:30pm.  Movie starts at 8pm.  The FREE screening this month: "Stripes" starring Bill Murray and John Candy.  A classic, hilarious movie.  Hope you will join us.

Jan. 14-23: Bill and Tripp head to Peru for another excellent adventure.  First stop: Lima, Peru for the Coop Sol annual meeting.  (Coop Sol is the Canadian office of Cooperative Coffees.)  After a day of business meeting, our troops will head out into the field to visit with our friends and partners.  Tripp will head to San Martin de Pangoa to meet with our friend Esperanza Dionisio Castillo, CAC Pangoa's General Manager, and her fellow cooperative members.  Meanwhile, Bill is headed to Piura, Montero, and Jaen for meetings and field visits with CENFROCAFE and CEPICAFE.  It is sure to be a great experience as we work to deepen our relationship with the farmers who continue to work so hard for the quality coffee we have come to enjoy.  Stay tuned for a trip report (with pictures) in the February edition of Fair Grounds.

Jan. 16-17:  Urban Cannibals, a newly opened urban market in Atlanta's East Atlanta Village, will be hosting "Cafe Campesino Days" on Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m.-4 p.m.  They will be sampling some single origins and blends, and Nema will be on hand to answer questions about Fair Trade and Cafe Campesino.  If you're in the area, check it out!  Also, learn more about Urban Cannibals and their delicious made-to-order foods on their Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/urbancannibals.

Saturday, Jan. 30: Live blues music with "Out of the Box" and coffee specials at Café Campesino Atlanta, 3-5 p.m.  Visit www.cafecampesinoatlanta.com to learn more.  Find us inside the Sweet Auburn Curb Market at 209 Edgewood Ave. SE.

"The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man."

George Bernard Shaw

Fair Grounds is produced by:

Café Campesino
725 Spring Street
Americus, GA 31709

Contact Information:

Orders and General Information
Phone - 888.532.4728, 229.924.2468
Fax - 229.389.4814
http://www.cafecampesino.com
info@cafecampesino.com

Staff:
Nancy Aparicio
Dave Campbell
Rusty Cheek
Maty de Barrios
Marco de la Paz
Jason Foster
Bill Harris
Geoffrey Hennies
Joe Johnston
Jaimie Minich
Tripp Pomeroy
Tyler Willis
Rebecca Young

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